The Forgotten Hero
by snickerdoodlepurplebunnies
Summary: Every person is a hero in their own story.  Well, this is my story.  I may not be the chosen one, or have killed Voldemort, but I have done more than anybody knows.  I will no longer be forgotten.
1. Chapter 1

"Accio!" I said again, thrusting my wand at the pillow in front of me, begging it to move. However, it refused to oblige, just as it has every other time I have tried. I groaned and sat down in the chair, laying my head in my hands. A small and optimistic voice from behind me said "Don't worry, Beth, I am sure you will get it eventually," I looked up at Luna, the only person who has said more than two words to me, and replied "I am a fourth year, with one of the highest marks in our year, I should be able to use a simple summoning charm!" "Well yes," she replied, "I don't really understand it though, how do you do so well on exams if you can't do simple magic?" I ignored her. I know Luna doesn't mean to say it the way she has, but the sting is there all the same. She noticed my silence and said, "No matter, it is almost dinner time, shall we go to the great hall?" I nodded, thankful to have stopped.

Dinner is the same as it always is, Luna and I sit on the edge of the Ravenclaw table, eating the same chicken dish with peas and the same chocolate fudge. I pick at the food, not really eating it and examine my fork. It has an interesting pattern of swirls coming up the handle, much prettier than the plain silver from last night. I turn my attention to my peers, there is that girl Cho Chang, the seeker for our house. She is surrounded by her friends, laughing and being happy. I remind myself that I did better than her on the last history of magic quiz, and look elsewhere. I slowly look around the hall, taking in everything that is happening, until I am jolted out of it by Luna. "Are you done?" she asks, and I look down at my untouched plate. I look up and nod. I can see Luna is surprised, as she always is, but turns to leave and I follow close behind.

Luna leaves me to wash up, and our other roommates have not returned from dinner yet. All alone in the dormitory, I take out my wand and point it at my blanket. "Accio" I whispered, and the fabric seemed to twitch slightly but stayed put. I felt the frustration boiling up inside of myself and hear a crack behind me. My roommate's glad figurine of a hippogriff was smashed into pieces. I raised my wand and said "reparo" though, as expected, the figure was still as broken as ever. I picked up one of the broken shards and twirled it between my fingers. The sharp edges jabbed against my thumb, but I only gripped it harder. I felt the glass break the skin on my finger and I watched in fascination as my blood ran down the glass and fell to the ground. I used a tissue to clean up the spot and decided to ask Luna to repair the figurine when she returned. Putting the piece of glass back on the desk, I lied down on my bed and tried to fall asleep.

Author's note: So what do you think? Any criticism or advice would be very helpful so if you want to say something please do


	2. Chapter 2

I looked down at the paper, with a small, red 'A' enclosed by a circle and sigh in frustration. "Another Acceptable!" I yell, muffled by the sounds of busy students. "It isn't too bad, what did you get wrong?" Luna asked. Professor Flitwick always gives back the written exam and notes on the practical test as well when he gives us our marks. I look at my written test, and see that nothing has been marked wrong. I expected this though, I may have missed 2 questions on tests in my entire career as a student, and those were most likely trick questions. No, it was the practical portion that lowered my grade. I looked on the back of my test and found, in small writing, the results of my spellcasting.

'Failure to perform any of the necessary spells, only accidental magic seemed to occur' was written at the top but below it was 'I know you are a bright student academically, so I would suggest getting help from a student that is good with spells'

Luna was looking over my shoulder at my test and said "wow, you got everything right on the written exam, that is amazing!" I glare at her and happen to notice the 'E' at the top of her paper. "And I got a zero on the practical portion" I said. We continued to walk in silence to our common room when I bumped into something and stumbled back.

"Watch it!" a voice growled, and I looked up to see Theodore Nott. He is a member of Slytherin house, a 5th year. Last year, he asked me to go to the Yule Ball with him, but I am positive it was a prank since I waited outside of my common room until the ball was half over. I don't like him very much.

I ducked down and tried to maneuver past him, but he seemed to recognize me. "Oh Beth is it, I have seen you before!" I nodded and tried to continue, but his hand grasped my forearm. "I haven't seen you in a while, since last year I believe. How is the insanity doing?" I ignored the jibe but he still refused to let go of my arm. Had I been any other student, I may have tried to grab for my wand, but I knew that the only sort of useful magic I might do in this case would be accidental, and therefore a wand would be unnecessary. I didn't have to contemplate this though, because I was ripped away from Theodore that instant.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" asked the voice that I have discovered belonged to Harry Potter. He along with Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Ginny Weasley, were walking along this way and decided to help me. Apparently Theodore was not as tough around them, and walked away muttering something under his breath.

The group before me laughed at something, possibly Theodore, and turned to me. "Who are you and why was Nott giving you such a hard time" Ron asked, and Hermione nudged him and said to me, "Hi, my name is Hermione Granger" holding her hand out, most likely for my to shake. I grasped her hand and shook it. "Beth, Beth Heersay" I replied. "Are you new?" Harry asked, and I shook my head. "I am a fourth year here" Ginny developed a confused expression and said, "really, I haven't seen you before." I became a bit angry, though I expected this, and replied, "we have been in at least three classes together each year, right now I am in your potions, herbology, and transfiguration class." They each turned a bright pink, and Harry was the first to break the silence. "So, Nott is a wanker isn't he?". Ron smiled and said, "ya, bigger fists then brains I reckon." The others laughed hysterically, though I didn't find it particularly funny, so I just stood there for a few seconds before walking away. I was about to turn the corner when Hermione noticed my absence and yelled, "It was nice meeting you!" I turned around and smiled slightly, wondering whether they could even see it or if they really cared. I continued on my way to my next class, thinking about how I had my first official introduction with the famous Harry Potter.

AN: Sooo…this is chapter 2 I suppose. Thank you for reading and if you have any criticism or something to say just do so. This was supposed to be longer but I have to go do stuff so I am putting the rest of this chapter into chapter 3. Oh and happy Chanukah!


	3. Chapter 3

AN: so for those of you actually reading this, sorry about the delay. Finals week just ended and I was studying nonstop. Things might happen a little more quickly during break but will probably slow down again when school starts so sorry about that. Criticism is always welcome.

The dungeons are always dark: I think that is why I like potions so much. It is also because it is the one class I can get through without making a complete ass out of myself. I look to the board and see that we are making a sleeping drought, the same as a few days ago. I don't bother to open the book and quickly get my supplies.

Whilst grabbing the eye of newt that was placed on the top shelf, I looked around at my classmates. There was Luna sitting at our table, staring off into space. She is probably looking for wrackspurts or snorkaks or something of that sort. The rest of the group were searching for the page in their books, flipping franticly trying to find the 96th page in our text. I smirk, looking over at Jade Monter, the 'smartest girl in our year'. I gloat internally at the fact that I always do better than her in this class, even if it is only in this class.

"What do we do first?" Luna asks, and I respond, "Can you crush the eye's while I light the cauldron?" She looks at me with uncertainty, and replies, "are you sure about that?". I ignore this and whisper the incantation. Nothing. I try again, and not even a spark is created. I try 5 more times, yet it is futile. Without saying anything, Luna switches places with me while I ground the eyes with as much force as I can, putting all of my anger into crushing them to a smooth pulp consistency.

Of course, we are the first ones finished, and ours is the best. Professor Snape comes to look at our potion and deems it excellent, which is surprising considering we are not in Slytherin, though less so since he prefers us over the Gryffindors. Though the rest of the students were nowhere near finishing, the class period ends and we get up to leave.

"Ms. Heersay, will you stay behind for a moment?" Professor Snape asks, and I slow down. Once the rest of the class files out, he continues. "You are very skilled in the art of potion making, and as you can see, many of your classmates lack your ability. I was hoping you could privately tutor a student of mine? Normally I would not ask this and simply let the student be, but he is a danger to the other students, and I can't let such a bumbling oaf harm others." I nod quickly and he continues. "His name is Nevil Longbottom, and he is a year older than you, but not too bright. I hope you can at least give him some advice on how to not destroy my classroom." I nod and reply, "It will be an honor, Professor" "Can you meet with him tonight, after dinner?" I nod, knowing that I would have no plans. He does not say anything, and I understand this to mean that I should leave, so I do.

"It is only 2 cups of toads, Neville" I nearly shout. I have been trying to help him create a simple shrinking potion for the past hour, and he simply cannot understand the concept of doing things properly. "Sorry, sorry, I will try harder this time". I scowl, he created a large mess now, one that he better be able to clean. "Can you clean up the mess, or are you also incapable of doing that?" I ask. The boys lip trembles, and he seems as though he is upset. I guess this is a normal reaction to what I said, but I am to frustrated to care. He gets out his wand and mutters, "scourgify" and the mess instantly disappears. "Good job, now start again" I say, not trying to hold the hatred out of my voice. Why is he, someone who is all but a monkey in terms of intelligence, able to perform spells perfectly when I, one of the smartest people in the school cannot?

He again attempts the potion, this time managing to nearly finish without difficulty. I should probably be proud that he is improving, but I am simply angry that now he can make a potion and perform magic, while I can only do one. "How many times do you stir it?" he asks, and I nearly give him the wrong amount, but I tell him "15 times counterclockwise". He looks at me in awe and says, "how do you remember all of this, you aren't even looking at the book?". I shrug and say, "I just remember things, I look at something once and it stays in my head." He seems amazed and a bit angry but turns back to the potion. After this step he is finished, and the potion, while not quite as thick as it should be, is at least passable. I look at my watch, seeing it is now 11, way past curfew. "We should clean up" Neville says, and gets out his wand. He looks at me, probably expecting me to do the same, but I just look at the floor. "I can't clean the whole room by myself, can you please help me?". I nod and get out my wand. We turn to different parts of the room, facing opposite walls. "Scourgify" I say, but, as expected, nothing happens. I try a few other incantations but the result is still the same. I even try conjuring a washcloth to clean by hand but I can't even do that. At that point, Neville's side is done and he is staring at me. I turn and realize that he has just seen me fumble around like an idiot, and I turn away.

"Can you not do magic?" he asks, and I glare at him and say, "obviously not, since you just saw me acting like a complete numbskull". He doesn't seem to notice my comment and just finishes my side of the room. Within seconds it is sparkling, and anger bubbles up inside of me. He hen turns to me and says, "I am not the best at magic, but I have become pretty fair this year. I can help you if you want, in exchange for the potions lessons". I think about this, he does seem to be pretty good, and I have noticed some people getting better this year, despite the horrid Professor Umbridge. I despise her as much as the rest of the students, but she does not allow us to do magic, for which I am grateful.

"Okay" I say, keeping my voice even. He grins, though I am not sure why since he just gave away even more of his free time. "I will see you soon then!" he says. I turn for a second to say, "yes" and leave.


	4. Chapter 4

"It isn't working," I tell the buffoon in front of me, waving my wand like the Whomping Willow's branches. He looked at me kindly and said, "try making smaller movements, it's just a swish and flick." He flourished his wand and said the incantation; the feather rose easily.

I scowl and bring my wand to eye level again. "Wingardium Leviosa" I say while swishing and flicking my wand. The feather doesn't even move. "Wingardium Leviosa" I say again, making the exactly perfect movements. Nothing.

"Well maybe we should work on something else then," Neville said, his eyes filled with pity. I hate pity. "Like what? What spell could possibly be more simple than a levitation charm one should learn in their first year?" I spit out, trying to hold in a scream.

Neville puts a hand on my shoulder. I am not quite sure why but it felt abnormal yet comforting in a strange way. "Look, I couldn't do magic for my first years at school. Honestly I thought I was a squib!"

"Is that supposed to comfort me? For all intents and purposes I am a squib. I can't do magic at all. The only reason I can do anything around here is because I am smart but that isn't enough if I can't perform a simple spell!" My voice gets higher and louder until I can tell it is hurting Neville but I can't stop myself. I finally finish my rant, heaving to catch my breath.

"I couldn't do magic because I didn't have any confidence, now that I am more sure of myself I am a lot better! Maybe that's your issue!" He says excitedly, as though he just discovered some amazing new spell tat could destroy Voldemort. "You think I'm not confident? I am considered a genius, have an IQ that rivals some of the greatest wizards and muggles of all time, and I have never gotten a less than a 100% on any written exam. So why would I lack self esteem?"

"Because none of that can help you cast spells, or make people like you." he replies. I don't know why but this turn of conversation starts to make me uncomfortable so I put my wand down and ask, "Well this is enough, do you want to start on potions now?" He shakes his head and replies, "No, besides it is time for dinner." I nod and we walk out.

As we reach the Great Hall and turn to go to our different tables, he turn to me and says, "Do you want to eat lunch with us? I am sure nobody will mind your company." I don't know why he invited me over, he most likely feels bad for me. Regardless I shake my head and say, "No, Luna's waiting for me" He just nods and turns away to say hi to his friends.

I walk towards the Ravenclaw table and sit across from Luna. "Hello" she says and I nod in reply. "How was your lesson with Neville?" "It went well, for him" I say, "I mean it is difficult to teach somebody like him." She laughed and said, "No silly, I mean your magic lesson, could you cast any spells?" I avert my eyes which she takes to mean that I haven't and drops the subject.

I look at the Gryffindor table and see Neville sitting with Harry and his little group of friends. They are all laughing and having a lovely time it seems. Neville must have said something funny as everybody is giggling while he is talking excitedly. A burst of rage and envy shoots through me. He has everything: magic, friends, confidence, he can even create decent potions now. He must have noticed my stare since he looks at me, and waves. The others notice Neville's focus shift to me and they all wave as well. They all seem friendly, a bit too friendly to be waving at me, a person they only met the day before. I raise my arm to wave and Luna turns around. The others are much more friendly with Luna and start gesturing for us, or her, to join them.

She gets up and looks at me, asking if I want to go. I shake my head and say, "I have a lot of work to do, but I will meet you in the common room," She nods, knowing I am lying but also knowing to leave me alone. She glides to the Gryffindor table and is greeted with warm welcomes, while I walk to the hall without any notice.

The common room is empty as everybody is still at dinner. I sink into one of the couches and open my notebook, intending to study. I have nothing to study so I look at the flames and drift slowly into sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

So daddy said we can go searching for crumple-horned snorkacks over break! And I'm going to help him with his investigation on a wrackspurt infestation in the ministry" Luna said excitedly. We were sitting at our end of the Ravenclaw table, discussing our plans for Christmas break. "Are you doing anything exciting?" she asked me. I shook my head and speared my sausage with my fork. It is the same swirly one I have been using since I first found it.

"We have defense against the dark arts first period" I said, looking up at the head table. Professor Umbridge looked more like a toad than any human being had the right to, and she had the personality to match. I suppose I shouldn't judge other people's personalities considering I have ever only managed to retain one friend. We stood to leave and I was immediately knocked over by something. I looked up to see a blond, pointed face sneering at me. "Well, well, well, if it isn't Loony Lovegood and her loony little friend. Did I knock you over? I'm so sorry" "I don't really think you're sorry, in fact I think you meant to do that," Luna said. Draco snorted, "oh please, like I would ever willingly touch a filthy little mudblood". I grabbed my books and pushed past him, waiting for Luna to meet me at the entrance to the hall. Draco seemed to get increasingly frustrated while Luna was as calm as ever. It was actually quite amusing to watch.

Defense against the dark arts has always been an interesting subject for me. While in other classes like transfiguration or charms I could sit in the back and pretend to be doing magic, in this class I actually had to face other students. Usually Luna was my partner, and she was nice enough to block the magic I wasn't doing so it seemed like I was actually attacking her with something other than forceful wan movements. However, this year has been particularly interesting because while I haven't had to attempt any magic, I have had to put up with the most pathetic excuse for a teacher I have ever met.

Today, like most days, she told everyone to put their wands away. While this gave me a rush of relief, Ginny Weasley decided to stand up and complain about how not knowing defense would hurt us in the future. "And why, Miss Weasley, would you need to know how to use defensive spells?" she asked in a voice that could crack diamonds. "Because You-Know-Who is back and I want to be prepared!" she bellowed. "20 points from Gryffindor, and I will see you in detention" Umbridge said and sat down, satisfied.

"Idiot," I mumbled under my breath. Umbridge had remarkable hearing apparently, and snapped her head towards me. "What was that?" she asked, her face starting to turn pink. "I said you're an idiot" I said. "And why is that Miss Heersay? Do you believe in these lies as well?" I put down my book, having nearly finished it for the third time, and said "I'm not going to make a judgment on whether You-Know-Who is back or not because I simply have no evidence, but it is idiotic to believe that he is the only dark wizard that would hurt children. If her were, Azkaban would be completely empty. Regardless of whether the most evil wizard known is alive or not, there are still many people in the world that would want to hurt us and we should have the opportunity to be prepared." The rest of the class looked at me in shock; it was the first time I have ever spoken in class. Professor Umbridge looked at me and smirked, despite having been successfully told off by a 14 year old. "Well Miss Heersay, judging by your past records in this class I'm surprised you feel so strongly about being able to perform actual magic, perhaps you would like to demonstrate something one of your other teachers have taught you?" The rest of the class looked shocked again, and Ginny seemed outraged that I would be the first to perform magic in the class. Luckily for me, it was time to leave. I ran out as quickly as I could but not before I heard, "and 10 points from Ravenclaw for disrespecting a teacher".

I was standing in the hallway waiting for Luna, when Ginny Weasley came up to me. "Hey, thanks for sticking up for me back there, Beth, right?" I nodded and said, "I wasn't sticking up for you, I just think she is an idiot and needs to be taken down a notch or eight". She seemed as though she didn't know whether to laugh or be offended, but said, "What did the old toad mean by your past marks in the class?" I just shook my head and said that it was private. She nodded. I couldn't tell whether she understood that people had secrets or simply didn't care enough to pry, but she told me that some of her friends were working on taking Umbridge down a few pegs as well and invited me to join what they were calling 'Dumbledore's Army'. I said I would think about it. By that time Luna glided over to us and we walked to our next class.

My tutoring sessions with Neville have been going well for the past few weeks. He was really improving his potions work during our sessions. He says it is because I don't make him as nervous as Professor Snape does so he can concentrate. However I haven't made any progress in the magic department. I was exploding things more often but that might have been frustration. It did remind me that I wasn't a squib though, which I suppose was a relief.

Since I didn't need to berate Neville as often about his potion skills, we have actually gotten to talking during our sessions. It wasn't as much of a two-sided conversation as him stuttering over his words and me nodding or giving short responses. It was the most human interaction I have every had aside from my parents and Luna though, so I would take what I could get. "So a friend of mine told me you stood up for her today during Defense" he said. "I didn't defend her, the Professor was being stupid so I told her so". "Do you believe that he's back?" he asked. I shrugged and said, "I don't know, I was taught not to believe something unless it could be backed up by conclusive evidence". "But Harry says he saw him." Neville replied. "I don't know him well enough to judge his trustworthiness I suppose, and besides one man's word doesn't count as conclusive evidence in my opinion". "He is a real great guy," Neville said, "He started this thing called Dumbledore's Army so we could learn the magic that Umbridge doesn't want to teach us. It's why I got so good this year. Hey, you should come to our meetings, I'm sure it would help you too" I shook my head and said, "No thanks, I'm not up for embarrassing myself in front of half of the school". "You won't embarrass yourself, I could barely disarm someone when I started and when I finally did it everybody cheered and they were al really happy for me." I just turned away and grabbed the ingredients for an aging potion. "Do you have any plans for the holiday?" he asked while I juggled beetles and snakeskins in my arms. "I will be going home to my parents" I said in reply. "Are they muggles?" he asked. I nodded and said "My mom is a neurobiologist and my dad is a physicist" I expected him to be impressed but he just looked at me shocked. Then I remembered that he has never heard of either of those things. "My mom studies how the brain works, like what makes people think certain things, and my dad looks at the way the world works. Or how it is supposed to work". When he looked at me in confusion I said, "What we do defies everything he spent his entire life studying. I swear he nearly gave up his career to be a juggler when he found out magic exists." "Why?" Neville asked, "it's wicked!" I sighed. "Because his entire life's work depends on the world acting in a certain way, and that way doesn't allow for people to fly on broomsticks or for tables to turn into rats or anything of that sort, and it messed with him". "I guess that would not be fun, finding out everything you thought was right was wrong" he said. I nodded. "What about you? Do you have any plans?" He lowered his head and said "I think I will just be staying home with my gran, that's what I usually do" I nodded, not particularly caring. Neville finished the potion only an hour later than he should have, and it was only slightly off-color. Once again I tried to clean up my side of the room, and once again I was proven unable to do so. "Listen, I have detention with the toad now so I can't help with you out tonight, but you should really think about going to a DA meeting" I nodded absently, grabbing up my books. He continued, "No really, I think it could really help you, and I promise nobody would laugh at you". "They laugh at you" I replied, "Only some of them" he said, blushing, "and those people don't matter to me, they are dumb pricks, just promise me you'll think about it?" I nodded and left her room.

I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask Luna about this Army everybody enjoys so much.


End file.
